Belgian Open: Luke Littler wins in second round as four big names knocked out

Luke Littler began his defence of the Belgian Open title with a second-round win – but four Premier League players were dumped out on Saturday.

The world champion, who won last year’s Belgian title while making his European Tour debut in Wieze, was among the 16 seeds that joined the draw in the second round.

And although the 18-year-old claimed a 6-3 win over Ryan Searle, four of the top 10 seeds fell at their first hurdle, including world number one Luke Humphries.

Humphries and Rob Cross both claimed a nine-dart finish during Thursday’s Premier League action, while Nathan Aspinall was beaten by Littler in the final.

But they all lost on Saturday, while three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen suffered the biggest shock, with the world number three humbled 6-4 by unranked Croatian qualifier Boris Krcmar, 45.

Humphries, the 2024 world champion, averaged just 92.61 in Wieze as he was upset 6-4 by local favourite Mike de Decker (100.45).

Ross Smith (112.60) proved too strong for world number four Cross (98.80) as he beat last year’s runner-up 6-2, while Aspinall was dealt a narrow 6-5 loss to Ritchie Edhouse.

The tournament concludes on Sunday, with Littler having a third-round game against fellow Englishman Luke Woodhouse, who beat Gary Anderson 6-2.

After beating Jermaine Wattimena 6-3, fifth seed Stephen Bunting is one of just three seeds left in the top half of the draw and faces Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney next.